Julianne Moore not too long ago shared that she is “shocked” to be taught that President Donald Trump’s conservative administration has “banned” her 2007 kids’s ebook, “Freckleface Strawberry,” from colleges all over the world which might be operated by the Division of Protection Training Exercise, or DoDEA.
On Sunday, the Oscar winner posted an image on Instagram shared by literary and free expression group PEN America from its account on the social media platform, which confirmed the duvet of “Freckleface Strawberry” together with the phrases “banned by the Division of Protection.”
The approaching-of-age story, which prompted a series of follow-ups since 2007, was impressed by Moore’s upbringing. In a caption for her submit, she defined that she wrote the ebook for her kids “to remind them that all of us battle, however are united by our humanity and group.”
“Freckleface Strawberry is a semi-autobiographical story a couple of seven 12 months outdated lady who dislikes her freckles however ultimately learns to stay with them when she realizes that she is totally different ‘similar to everyone else,’” Moore wrote.
“I’m notably shocked as a result of I’m a proud graduate of Frankfurt American High School, a #DOD faculty that after operated in Frankfurt, Germany,” she mentioned. “I grew up with a father who’s a Vietnam veteran and spent his profession within the #USArmy.”
“It’s galling for me to comprehend that children like me, rising up with a mother or father within the service and attending a [DoDEA] faculty is not going to have entry to a ebook written by somebody whose life expertise is so just like their very own,” she added.
An company that is part of the Division of Protection, the DoDEA manages 161 colleges for kids of navy households worldwide, according to its website.
The Protection Division acknowledged in a memo final week obtained by The Guardian that library books “probably associated to gender ideology or discriminatory fairness ideology matters” had been being examined, with Moore’s ebook amongst “a small quantity” saved for “additional evaluate.”
And in a statement to CNN, DoDEA spokesperson Will Griffin mentioned that no books had been banned but however didn’t affirm if “Freckleface Strawberry” was faraway from colleges overseen by the company. The assertion additionally didn’t supply particulars on how lengthy the evaluate would final.
“I can’t assist however surprise what’s so controversial about this image ebook that [causes] it to be banned by the US Authorities,” Moore wrote elsewhere in her submit’s caption. “I’m really saddened and by no means thought I might see this in a rustic the place freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional proper.”
Her shock was echoed within the submit’s feedback part by actors, influencers and fellow authors, who balked on the ongoing efforts from Republican politicians claiming to guard free speech while banning books.
“Oh my pal that is scary! I’m so sorry that is occurring!!” Halle Berry wrote.
In one other remark, actuality tv producer Andy Cohen mentioned, “What an absolute joke. The celebration of free speech banning books.”
